Philadelphia City Council to vote on renaming Taney Street in city's Grays Ferry neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia City Council will vote on Thursday on a bill that would change the name of Taney Street in the city's Grays Ferry neighborhood.

That miles-long block is named after former Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney. He authored the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, which Constitutional scholars consider a stain on the court's history and the worst decision handed down by the court.

The decision held that African Americans were not citizens of the United States, and not due the rights and protections of the Constitution.

A petition to rename the street in 2021 collected more than 2,700 signatures.

RELATED: Philadelphia community campaigns to change street name with controversial history

Council says 90% of Taney Street residents oppose the name.

They want the street renamed to honor Caroline LeCount, a Philadelphia civil rights pioneer and educator.

She was the first Black woman to pass the city's teaching exam.